The present invention relates to an apparatus to perform acclimation for aquatic organisms including, but not limited to, fish, invertebrates (e.g., crabs, shrimps, sea stars, etc.), and plants. It is assumed that the live specimens are typically transported using plastic bags filled with water, which is a technique popularly used by pet stores and aquatic animal trades. Furthermore, it is assumed that the live specimens are intended to live in an aquarium, normally as pets. Upon arrival to the target aquarium, an acclimation process is necessary to gradually change the water conditions inside the bag to that of the target aquarium. The live specimen is released into its new habitat only when the conditions inside the bag are sufficiently close to that of the target aquarium. This process is necessary because aquatic animals, such as, but not limited to, fish or invertebrates, are extremely sensitive to the condition of their liquid environment; these conditions include temperature, salinity, ph, and other chemical composition. A sudden change in any of these conditions may result in shock, which frequently causes disease or death to the animal. In order to produce a successful introduction, it is necessary to acclimate the aquatic inhabitant to its new environment with as little trauma as possible.
The traditional method of acclimation for aquatic animals has been to float the plastic bag containing the animals in the target aquarium and to manually add a small amount of water from the target aquarium into the bag at some fixed interval of time, for example, every 5 minutes. Due to thermal transmission through the bag, the water temperature inside the bag gradually changes toward that of the target aquarium; also, the slow introduction of water from the target aquarium into the bag produces a gradual change of water conditions. The process as described, however, is tedious and error-prone since a human must supervise and manually execute the procedure for an extended period of time, typically more than twenty minutes.
The present invention addresses many of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing an apparatus that is simple and cost-effective for the purpose of acclimation. Prior art offers various techniques and means to perform acclimation, described as follows.
In some prior art acclimation systems, a tank that can be attached to an aquarium is proposed together with means to control the flow rate of water into the tank. The main disadvantage of the designs is that the water used to transport the aquatic animal might not be enough to fill the tank to a proper level. Furthermore, the fact that the aquatic animal must be poured into the empty tank to start the acclimation process creates additional stress for the animal. Finally, different animal sizes require different tank sizes, and a fixed tank cannot handle a variety of animals having different sizes and volume requirements.
In another prior art acclimation system, a complete system for packaging, transporting, and acclimation is described, and is based on sealing the live specimen in a container. For acclimation, holes are punctured in the container, and water from the target aquarium is introduced through the use of plastic tubes. Since water must exit the container, additional setup must be provided to collect the water. The system is more suitable for large-scale commercial applications, since sealed containers are not commonly used by pet stores and animal trades at the consumer level.
In another prior art acclimation system, a packaging and acclimation system is described that is also based on a sealed container. For acclimation, holes are punctured in the container, which is then allowed to sink into the target aquarium. The holes permit a gradual water exchange between the aquarium and the container. While the design achieves acclimation automatically, the water flow rate cannot be easily controlled. Moreover, it is not possible to maintain the water in the aquarium separate from the transportation water, as is desired by many aquarists.
In yet another prior art acclimation system, a special plastic bag design for fish packaging and transportation is described. The design allows the bag to float while staying open at the aquarium, hence achieving gradual temperature equalization. To dilute the content inside the bag, manual water addition is necessary. While the design is generally sound, the need to manually pour water to the bag is tedious. Additionally, a floating bag that is free to move has problems with aquariums that have strong water flow, such as those having fountains or other filtration systems; the water movement at the aquarium may sink the bag or cause unintended water exchange. Finally, the specially designed bag is more expensive than the plain bag used by most pet stores, hence the business cost is raised, leading to resistance in its adoption.
In yet another prior art acclimation system, a fish acclimation siphon device is described, where the fish to be acclimated together with the transportation water are poured into a container, and water from the target aquarium is brought in using a hose. Although the design is simple, the initial pouring of the fish into an empty container is highly stressful to the fish itself, and the amount of transportation water may not be sufficient to provide an adequate level in the container. Furthermore, because the container is not submerged into the aquarium, the water temperature in said container and the water temperature in said aquarium may not equalize, even though the water in said container is diluted by the water in said aquarium, due to the fact that the dilution process is slow. The prior art system described here is currently available for consumer purchase at various pet supply outlets such as www.drfostersmith.com.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for providing means for acclimating aquatic organisms to a new environment that is easy to use and cost effective.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.